When a devastating earthquake hit Haiti recently, Israeli aid workers were some of the first on the scene, offering vital medical help and search and rescue assistance to the country’s beleaguered citizens.

Israel was widely praised for its work in the troubled country, but the work carried out there is just the latest in a long history of aid, given quietly and without fanfare in the wake of any kind of disaster by an Israeli organization whose job is to coordinate Israeli volunteers from a number of the country’s different non-profits.

Israeli volunteers working with the organization IsraAid provide medical help to injured Haitians in the wake of the recent earthquake.

Founded in 2001 by Shahar Zehavi, IsraAid brings together all of the professional Israeli and Jewish aid organizations with expertise in the fields required to provide a variety of aid in the wake of a disaster.

Privately-funded by individual Israeli or North American donors as well as by partner organizations like Bnei Brith, IsraAid responds to emergencies all over the world with targeted help that includes every aspect of disaster relief, from search and rescue to rebuilding communities and schools, to providing aid packages, medical assistance, and even micro financing to rebuild businesses and post psychotrauma care.